MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

11/17 Compensation talks on hold

Theo Epstein says compensation talks between the Cubs and Red Sox have been tabled until after the Rule 5 Draft in early December. The Red Sox want some type of compensation because Epstein left Boston with one year remaining on his contract.

“Ben [Cherington, Red Sox GM] and I talked, and we agreed that it makes sense to put it off until after the Rule 5 Draft,” Epstein said Thursday as he left the General Manager Meetings in Milwaukee. “Some things will be more clear — rosters and what not. There’s nothing to report on except that we’ve agreed to re-engage after the Rule 5 Draft. It’s very amicable. Lots of jokes about it. We’ll see if we can get something done after the Rule 5 Draft.”

Major League Baseball will not get involved unless the two teams cannot reach a conclusion, Epstein said.

The other GMs have had a good time with the topic, kidding Epstein as to how much he’s worth.

“Trust me, there are lots of jokes going on about it,” Epstein said. “The good ones can’t be repeated.”

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